Hop

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Director: Tim Hill

Writer: Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio, Brian Lynch

Stars: James Marsden, Russell Brand, Kaley Cuoco, Hank Azaria, Gary Cole, Elizabeth Perkins, Hugh Laurie

RANT: Remember my rant about making choices about what movies to see? Now, a decision was made for me! Off I go to the movies to see Hop, functioning as an honorary uncle and grandfather! We will see how will behaved they all are. And, of course, I will be sure to not sit in front of any of them!

SYNOPSIS: E.B., the Easter Bunny's son, heads out to Hollywood to break in the rock 'n' roll biz as a drummer, abandoning his father's hope to pass on the tradition of Easter Bunny to him.

Filling a holiday season movie void, director Tim Hill takes on a "tale" of the Easter Bunny legacy. But when E.B., the next in line to the Easter Bunny mantle, decides that he does not have the right stuff to be the big bunny, he instead tries to live his dreams of being a rock 'n' roll drummer in the non-magical world. Along the way, he shacks up with a slacker, Fred, who is also trying to get his life in order. All the while, both Fred and E.B. live under the shadow of fathers who expect big things from their sons. Finally, toss in a second-in-command chick with plans to overthrow bunnies as the distributors of holiday candy, and you have a recipe for some kid-friendly fun.

Not as engrossing for kids of all ages, Hop, from the studio that brought us the wildly successful Despicable Me, still delivers laughs and tears to those of us with the heart of a child (or at least the mentality, like me). Russell Brand reels his manic side back in as a voice over talent, to delightful results. You can still hear the wild man trying to get out, but we are treated with enough Brand-iose mannerisms to appeal to all. James Marsden returns to the live action/animated genre as Fred, still able to interact with the imaginary critters set before him. He is not as gallant as he was in Enchanted, but since he is a slacker with daddy issues, its hard to compare the two roles. The Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco comes in as Fred's sister, Sam. Gary Cole is Fred's father, Henry, and Elizabeth Perkins is his mother, Bonnie. Hank Azaria rounds out the cast as the frustrated, scheming chick, Carlos, bent on ousting the bunnies as the prime Easter Bunny representatives.

There is plenty for the kids, from the Pink Beret Royal Easter Bunny guard bunnies tasked to find E.B., to pratfalls with large dogs, to pooping out jelly beans, to a chick that can't stopping dancing when the music plays, to multiple scenes with E.B. banging out some sweet thumps on a drum kit. But for every good scene, there are some lulls that parents will be bored with. Even some of the kids may find themselves distracted from the kaleidoscope of color on the silver screen. Maybe Russell Brand's E.B. is still too kinetic, cause when he isn't in the scene, there seems to be a vacuum.

Sporting a Santa Clause-inspired ending, the kids will enjoy Hop. But parents may hope for Easter Sunday to come ad go. I give Hop a 3.5 for the kids, and 2.5 for the adults.

WORTH: Matinee or DVD